Ken Weaver. Chair of the NMC Board of Trustees welcomed us to the campus and introduced the program and our speaker Tim Nelson, President of NMC and Rotarian. Weaver and Nelson both acknowledged the investments Rotary and Rotary Charities have made over these many years of partnership from NMC’s earliest days from the annual NMC BBQ through Water Studies, the Dennos Museum and much more. Maybe one of the most important among these is the investment in the University Center, which brought baccalaureate degrees to local students through NMC and is model sought after by many schools across the nation. We are strong partners and invested in the success of NMC as a leader among Community Colleges across the nation.
Nelson has been President of NMC since 2001. In his sixteen years as president, along with faculty and staff, they have built many global partnerships around the world notably with China, Brazil, Costa Rica, Great Britain and others. Nelson and his wife Nancy Johnson personally established and committed monies to the Global Opportunities Fund to increase international opportunities for NMC students. This global reach of NMC is the backbones of the college’s commitment to their students and the community at large, a point Nelson made often as he spoke. He and the college have a strong commitment to the communities, which they serve.
Nelson spoke of the recent initiatives that are part of facility and student expansion. NMC reaches some 50,000 “learners” annually far more than the On-Campus student approaching 5,000. NMC continues to advance its interest in baccalaureate, master and Ph.D. degree options.
There are five strategic directives that drive NMC going forward
- Prepare students/learners to be successful in a global economy and society
- To establish National and International competencies as related to our regional economies and resources
- Deliver learning through a networked workforce
- Be a portal for lifelong learning
- New credentials utilizing new and as yet undetermined technologies, allowing new methods and means of learning
Nelson credits NMC’s belief in innovation as a defining aspect of the NMC culture. They model three phases:
- Discovery
- Incubation
- Acceleration
NMC needs monies for this to succeed and the Foundation gives out what Nelson terms as “Discovery Grants” to nurture new and innovative ideas from faculty, staff and students to initiate their ideas and determine if there is enough to want to incubate the idea. The monies to pursue this level come from a strategic fund administered through the President’s office there is a venture capital fund earmarked for a project to move into the acceleration phase.
Notable facilities expansion are the new North Hall residence of suites affording communal aspects with privacy for students. The expansion of Dennos Museum is currently the most visible of facility changes, adding nearly 15,000 square feet surrounding the extant museum exhibition halls with two new permanent galleries, a new sculpture gallery and enlarged Inuit gallery among other spaces.
Enhancements to West Hall are to follow adding 30,000 square feet to include a technologically advanced, 24/7 innovation center that can house small and large projects for anyone in the Traverse community. The second part of the new addition will house a new library. This is expected to begin in 2018.
NMC is in the top tier of Community Colleges in the country offering advanced degree programs, in veteran services, short-term study abroad programs, drone training, culinary, endowment per student and monetary awards and a world-class museum. NMC is the only institution in the world providing certification for the Association of Diving Contractors International for remote vehicle underwater training.
As Nelson asserts, “innovation remains vital in the DNA here.” Rotary is an integral part of that. We have a lot to be proud of when it comes to educational opportunities and the faculty and staff that maintain NMC as our lauded and sought Community College.
